Volunteers in Policing

Volunteers are one of the most important resources to the Chandler Police Department. Many of our programs would not exist without volunteer participation. Volunteers dedicate thousands of hours annually to assist the Chandler Police Department and the Chandler community.

Volunteers In Policing Program

• A one-year commitment is required of all volunteers.
• Must be 21 years of age or older.
• Volunteers are asked to donate at least 16 hours per month to the program.
• The Chandler Police Department provides all training and equipment.
• Hours are flexible and can include days, nights and weekends.

Volunteer Positions

The Chandler Police Department’s Volunteer in Policing program offers several areas where volunteers may assist. Volunteer positions include chaplain, dispatch aide, DUI task force, explorer advisor, fingerprint services, general clerical assistant, fleet assist, motorist assist, telephone warrant compliance and victim services. Job descriptions of many volunteer position are listed below.

Chaplain
Citizens from the faith community serve as Police Chaplains. The Chaplaincy Program provides assistance to police and serve all aspects of the Department during critical incidents.

Dispatch Aide
Volunteers assist by updating files and confirming information that is currently in our system. Volunteers also pull 9-1-1 calls as requested by officers and staff.

DUI Task Force
Volunteers set up and operate the command post at the designated DUI Task Force site and assist officers with the booking process.

Explorer Advisor Assistant
Volunteers assist the Explorer Officer to plan and implement activities and training for youth 14-21 years of age. The Explorer program is specifically designed for young men and women ages 14 to 21 who are interested in pursuing a career in law enforcement. Volunteers attend the weekly Explorer meetings, conduct training and community service activities and assist at special events.

Fingerprint Services
Volunteers perform the non-criminal fingerprinting for the Police Department.Fingerprinting takes place on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Fleet Assist
Volunteers assist the fleet officer with transporting vehicles to and from the yard for maintenance. They also assist with special assignments such as transporting vehicles to the calibration testing station.

General Clerical
Volunteers perform a variety of clerical and general service tasks assisting police support personnel in routine duties. Volunteers are assigned to any division within the Police Department in need of assistance.

Motorist Assist
Volunteers are uniformed civilians who are trained to provide assistance to motorists who have encountered vehicular problems. These volunteers drive police cars with “Volunteers In Policing” markings and utilize the same radios and in-car computers as Police Officers for communications and dispatching while performing their duties on patrol. Motorist Assist volunteers may be called upon to assist at vehicular accident scenes, perform traffic control or carry out other assigned duties for which they have been trained.

Pawn Assist
Volunteers assist in the Criminal Investigations Bureau by entering pawn ticket information into a database which then identifies stolen property. Volunteers verify any of the stolen item matches which eliminates duplication of work for the pawn detectives.

Telephone Warrant Compliance

Volunteers assist the Criminal Apprehension Unit by contacting, by phone, persons with city court warrants and directing them to take care of the warrants before CAU needs to come to the home to make an arrest.

Transcription
Volunteers transcribe audio interviews for the Criminal investigations Bureau.

Victim Services
Volunteers works with Victim Services staff to assist with data entry, organizing donations for victims, and community outreach at special events. Volunteers also assist the Victim Services Coordinator in assessing grant-required data about clients’ satisfaction of services. They make calls to clients after case closure to gather data that will assist the Victim Services Program in evaluating and improving services to victims of crime.

Requirements

• Must be 21 years of age or older
• A one-year commitment to volunteer

The existence of any of the conditions listed below may result in rejection from the selection process.  These areas will be explored during an extensive background investigation and polygraph examinations.

Drug History

• Cannot have used marijuana in the past two years;
• Cannot have ever sold, produced, cultivated or transported marijuana for sale;
• Cannot have used any dangerous drug in the past five years;
• Cannot have ever sold, produced, manufactured or transported a dangerous drug for sale (steroids, methamphetamine, ecstasy, PCP and psilocybin mushrooms);
• Cannot have used a narcotic drug in the past five years;
• Cannot have ever sold, produced, transported or cultivated a narcotic drug (heroin, cocaine, crack cocaine);
• Cannot have shown a history of prescription drug abuse in the past three years.

Driving History

• Cannot have six or more moving violations in the past three years. If there are three to five violations in the past three years, it will be investigated further;
• No criminal traffic violations in the past three years (DUI, reckless driving, criminal speed).

Criminal History

• No felony convictions;
• No sexual offense convictions;
• No domestic violence or crimes of violence in the past five years;
• No misdemeanor convictions in the past year;
• No affiliation with a criminal street gang in the past three years;
• Any affiliation with a criminal street gang will require a further investigation.

For more information on volunteering, contact the Melanie Slate the Volunteer Unit Coordinatorat at 480-782-4909 or submit and application below.